(a) The department shall not expend funds, and a regional center shall not expend funds allocated to it by the department, for the purchase of any service outside the state unless the Director of Developmental Services or the director’s designee has received, reviewed, and approved a plan for out-of-state service in the consumer‘s individual program plan developed pursuant to Sections 4646 to 4648, inclusive. Prior to submitting a request for out-of-state services, the regional center shall conduct a comprehensive assessment and convene an individual program plan meeting to determine the services and supports needed for the consumer to receive services in California and shall request assistance from the department’s statewide specialized resource service in identifying options to serve the consumer in California. The request shall include details regarding all options considered and an explanation of why these options cannot meet the consumer’s needs. The department shall authorize for no more than six months the purchase of out-of-state services when the director determines the proposed service or an appropriate alternative, as determined by the director, is not available from resources and facilities within the state. Any extension beyond six months shall be based on a new and complete comprehensive assessment of the consumer’s needs, review of available options, and determination that the consumer’s needs cannot be met in California. An extension shall not exceed six months. For the purposes of this section, the department shall be considered a service agency under Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 4700).

(b) Funds shall not be expended for the cost of interstate travel or transportation by regional center staff in connection with the purchase of any service outside the state unless authorized by the director or the director’s designee.

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(c) If a regional center places a consumer out of state pursuant to subdivision (a), it shall prepare a report for inclusion in the consumer’s individual program plan. This report shall summarize the regional center’s efforts to locate, develop, or adapt an appropriate program for the consumer within the state. This report shall be reviewed and updated every three months, and a copy shall be sent to the director. Each comprehensive assessment and report shall include identification of the services and supports needed and the timeline for identifying or developing those services needed to transition the consumer back to California.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a), (b), and (c), the State Department of Developmental Services or a regional center may expend funds allocated to it for the purchase of services for residents of this state and administrative costs incurred in providing services in the border areas of a state adjacent to California when the purchase is approved by the regional center director.

(e) Each regional center shall submit to the department by December 31, 2012, a transition plan for all consumers residing out of state as of June 30, 2012, for whom the regional center is purchasing services.

(f) This section shall become operative January 1, 2022.

(Repealed (in Sec. 21) and added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 76, Sec. 22. (AB 136) Effective July 16, 2021. Operative January 1, 2022, by its own provisions.)